Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family-Chapter 1015 - 1014 Trap

Chapter 1015: Chapter 1014: Trap

Chapter 1015 -1014: Trap

Seeing Liu Sisi’s resolute expression, Xia Hongyuan also knew that the situation was beyond salvaging.

He no longer insisted on the impossible and after some thought, he began to choose his words carefully.

“Princess Ruyu, now that the matter of Mr. Xu becoming the Vice Dean has been settled, I will not press the issue further. However, Your Highness must also be aware of the academy’s current difficulties. The fact that the academy struggles to enroll students has much to do with the conflict between the Liu Family and Di Family. If Your Highness can’t resolve this, even if Vice Dean Xu recruits students, I’m afraid they will…”

His meaning was very clear, with the teachers from the Liu and Di Families placing stumbling blocks in both overt and covert ways, even if students are recruited, before long they will be hounded into passive resignation.

Liu Sisi frowned: “Were there many students who dropped out under such circumstances in the past?”

“Not many. At first, I did not pay much attention. Later, I noticed that the students who dropped out always seemed panicked, and when I questioned them closely, they refused to speak. Afterward, upon careful observation, I finally discerned the pattern.”

“Good, I am aware of this matter now. You just do your duty, and leave the rest to me.”

Liu Sisi looked back at the academy in surprise and, without lingering, bid farewell to Xia Hongyuan and climbed onto the carriage.

The coachman cracked his horse whip, which whistled through the air with a sharp “snap.”

“Giddy up!”

The horse neighed in pain and set off at a gallop.

The academy situated on the hillside was soon left far behind.

Liu Sisi let out a long sigh, then put down the curtain.

Since the academy’s establishment, it had gone from an initial hundreds of students with “three years yielding five scholars” to its current desolate state with just twenty or thirty nominal students, truly embodying the old saying that all things prosper only to decline. However, there were likely many human factors involved as well.

After the academy was first established and gradually expanded, the number of students kept increasing. Whether it was teachers from the Liu or Di Families, they taught with dedication. But in the third year, when Di Yelei was leading troops in fierce battle against the enemy at the border city, His Majesty widely opened the imperial examinations, and the academy made a rigorous effort to send over two hundred students to the exams. In one fell swoop, thirty-seven were placed on the list, ultimately producing five scholars.

Such great achievements not only spread the fame of the academy far and wide but also filled the teachers of those five scholars with pride.

However, when the first signs of trouble were hardly visible, mountain bandits raided the academy, and the teachers and students were brutally massacred, blood flowed like rivers, and corpses piled up like mountains.

Although they were later entirely eradicated by her leading force, it still couldn’t bring back those young lives.

The few surviving teachers and students either left or dispersed, and those who stayed were naturally mostly from the Liu and Di Families. Both sides, believing in their significant contributions, stayed with the academy through its hardest days, arrogantly overshadowed the authority, showing no regard for Xia Hongyuan as the Dean, and even openly fought each other to the death.

Thinking of all this, Liu Sisi felt so troubled she knotted her brows.

It was indeed time for some serious reform.

Over the years, she had invested silver into many businesses: the wharf in her hometown, the shops in the county, the mining of the gold mine inside Qinglong Cave, the greenhouse vegetables in the capital city, and various other shops and investments. The only venture that seemed to have lost her money was, in all likelihood, the academy in front of her eyes.

But from the very beginning, she had established the academy with the intention of benefiting the countryside and never intended to profit from it.

However, judging from the current situation, if she didn’t take decisive action this time, she feared that she would lose her influence in the academy in the future!

She closed her eyes and pondered, thinking over the problems from many different angles.

Accompanied by the rhythmic sound of the horse’s hooves, the horse galloped towards home.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa…”

The coachman’s alarmed voice to stop the horse rang out, and the horse neighed again. The carriage jumped up and down several times, and with a lurch forward, it finally came to a halt.

Almost flung Liu Sisi out of the carriage.

“Someone come, what on earth is going on?”

Liu Sisi, who had been resting with her eyes closed, was startled into a cold sweat.

“Reporting to the Princess, it is Xiao Anzi, the Young Master’s attendant, blocking the road to see you,” a follower hurriedly answered.

Wasn’t Xiao Anzi supposed to be attending to Chou Chou? How did he end up here?

Liu Sisi, alarmed, hurriedly lifted the carriage curtain; only then did she stick her head out for a look and indeed saw Xiao Anzi, a face full of anxiety, running towards the carriage.

“Servant Xiao Anzi greets the Princess.”

“Xiao An, if you’re not by Chou Chou’s side, what are you doing here?”

“Reporting to the Princess, it’s, it’s the Young Master…he’s met with an accident! Wuu wuu wuu…” As Xiao Anzi spoke, he couldn’t help but start wiping away tears.

“Chou Chou had an accident? What happened to him; don’t rush to cry, speak properly about the important matter.”

Liu Sisi felt both angry and anxious, but Xiao Anzi was incessantly crying, so much that he couldn’t catch his breath.

“Princess, the Young Master, he has been taken away by a group of strangers…”

The news made Liu Sisi shake with anger; she forcibly suppressed her inner turmoil and ordered those beside her, “Quick! Head straight toward the small town! Do not stop on the road. What are you standing there for? Why aren’t you quickly following the carriage?”

Xiao Anzi promptly climbed onto the carriage and sat next to the coachman at the front.

Without any hesitation this time, the carriage sped off, charging in the direction of the county.

“Xiao An, what exactly has happened?”

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After finally adjusting her breathing, Liu Sisi questioned him.

Xiao An, still distressed, heard the question and hastily reported, “It was like this. Initially, we were following the Eldest Young Madam to have some fun, and the Young Master was very happy. Taking the opportunity while the Eldest Young Madam and Old Master Fan were speaking, he suggested going shopping. The Eldest Young Madam tried to stop him, but the Young Master said he would return after playing for a while, and then led me out the door.”

“And then? Did something happen while you were shopping?”

“At first, we were having a good time, but as we were getting ready to head back, a group of horsemen suddenly charged out from the corner and snatched the Young Master away. I chased them for a street, but couldn’t catch up. I had no choice but to return to report to the Eldest Young Madam. The Eldest Young Madam panicked; she sent people to search while also notifying Old Master Marquis. Remembering that you went to the academy, she sent me to inform you…”

Xiao Anzi kept his account brief yet managed to clarify the situation.

This caused Liu Sisi to clench her fists tightly.

She had been careless!

Originally in Wanzhou City, there were already several groups who had wanted to capture her. It was only because they were scared off by Di Yelei leading his men that they left. How could she have forgotten about that?

And then there was that black-clothed man with a masked face, who had withdrawn from the competition last minute; it’s unlikely he would just drop the matter.

It’s just unclear who exactly took Chou Chou away!

“Princess, the Eldest Young Madam instructed me to tell you, might all this be a trap set by the other party, with the intention to lure you out?”